25. EMCMINDING THE STORAGELast year: 36EMC became a tech giant on the strength of immense networked hard-disk arrays. After copycats like Hitachi and IBM piled on, the company branched into software that automatically tags and prioritizes everything from email to video files. The result: Data storage that's fast, cheap, and open to all operating systems - and EMC's return to the vanguard.Done: EMC cemented its lead in storage software with purchases of Legato, Documentum, and VMware.To do: Add AI to storage networks. EMC should put a virtual archivist at every employee's beck and call.

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26. FedExLORD OF THE BRINGLast year: 12First FedEx eliminated the friction from express mail. Then it applied its world-class logistics to ground shipments, taking on UPS in a market long ruled by the brown trucks. The upshot: in 2003, some 5.3 million packages delivered to 215 countries every day.Done: The $2.4 billion purchase of 1,200 Kinko's stores extended FedEx's reach into back-office tasks like printing and binding.To do: Lots of things need transporting. How about FedEx Grocery or FedEx Travel?

27. MicrosoftMONSTER, INC.Last year: 8The Goliath of Redmond has a simple mantra: Control the operating system and you control destiny. Indeed, Microsoft's hegemony allows it to set the agenda - on desktops and servers, at least. But the company's taste for monopoly over innovation has attracted a host of persistent Davids, including regulators, virus creators, and Linux developers. Longhorn, the next-generation OS, will test the giant's plan to make its software the operating system for your life.Done: Bill Gates finally made peace with Sun's Scott McNealy, who had goaded the Justice Department and then the European Commission to prosecute Gates' Evil Empire for antitrust violations.To do: Given Microsoft's long string of scrapes with antitrust cops, it's time for the company to start competing on the merits of its products.

28. Pfizer (new)KING OF THE PILLFDA approvals have slowed - the agency green-lighted only 21 drugs in 2003, down from 56 in 1996 - so Pfizer is packing its pipeline to make sure something gets through. Despite the surging cost of bringing drugs to market, the Viagra maker has 130 new compounds in development, as well as 95 new uses for old ones. It will spend $8 billion on R&D this year, more than double its 2003 profit. But the trick to keep Pfizer growing at last year's amazing 40 percent clip is to combine the company's stellar marketing ability with the innovative spirit found at startups and universities. For instance, it's working with two of the hottest biotech boutiques, Eyetech and Neurocrine, to develop medicines for macular degeneration and insomnia, respectively. With 300 such partners laboring in the background, Pfizer's pipeline will be productive for a long time to come.Done: Pfizer's successful integration of Warner-Lambert and Pharmacia has given it the best-selling drugs for a dozen ailments from arthritis to depression.To do: Generally, it costs $900 million to make just one drug. Sounds like the pipeline itself is ripe for innovation.

29. Costco Wholesale (new)DISCOUNT DELUXEWho ever thought a warehouse store could be a popular weekend hangout? Credit Costco, the Washington-based big-box retailer whose skill at bringing deep discounts to high-quality goods has turned its cavernous stores into dizzying arcades of consumer fetish. Building on the hyper-efficient supply chain pioneered by Wal-Mart, Costco is putting luxury goods - Barolo wines, Jacuzzi spas, plasma-screen TVs - within reach of a new class of consumers. The combination of bulk sales and membership fees fosters customer loyalty; constant influxes of stylish clothing or fresh food items stimulate impulse purchases. The company also defies the low-wage Gospel According to Sam Walton: Despite paying higher wages, Costco's profit per employee is 22 percent higher than Wal-Mart's. If Wal-Mart has become a blight on small-town America, Costco is the amusement park on the outskirts - the place where all the fun is.Done: The company piloted a new store specializing in high-end home furnishings and drew up a plan to open these Costco Home outlets throughout the US.To do: Costco owns the wholesale-club niche while treating its employees far better than the average retailer. Now the company must build on its lead without sacrificing its exemplary standards.

30. ComcastSTRIKE UP THE BROADBANDLast year: 38More than 21 million US homes - one in five - get Comcast's cable service, and 5 million log on using its broadband Internet lines. With that kind of reach, CEO Brian Roberts thinks he has a shot at making video-on-demand work, putting pressure on TiVo-like recorders. First, though, he's taking on the Baby Bells by offering dirt-cheap voice calls over IP lines. Done: Having extended its reach by acquiring AT&T Broadband in 2002, Comcast showed its appetite for content with a bold bid for Disney this past spring. To do: VOD and VoIP are a good start, but Comcast could really shake things up by launching legal P2P file-sharing into the living rooms of America.

31. Taiwan SemiconductorTHE CIRCUIT MAKERLast year: 24Manufacturing microprocessors is an expensive undertaking that can distract innovators from designing better chips. The solution? Let Taiwan Semiconductor do it. Orders from niche players like Broadcom that don't have their own factories, as well as giants like Motorola and Philips that do, are keeping the company's revenues growing 40 percent a year. By making it cheaper to produce ever more advanced chips, TSMC is clearing the way for next year's killer app.Done: The company broke ground on a new factory in China, helping maintain its majority share of the global foundry market. To do: To extend its role, Taiwan Semi could move up the value chain, becoming not just the silicon industry's factory but its lead designer.

32. Ameritrade (new)TRADING PLACESThe bear market did away with many etrading outfits, but it made Ameritrade stronger than ever. In 2003, after years of losses, the company made a $137 million profit, a fitting reward for CEO Joe Moglia's foresight four years ago: After the bubble burst, he moved fast to slash more than one job in three. Then he bought five smaller rivals - including a $1.3 billion deal for Datek in the darkest days of the downturn - and integrated them without increasing head count. As a result, the company executes more online stock trades than anyone in the world, and does it more profitably than E*Trade and Charles Schwab, which found it necessary to expand into mortgages and investment advice. The lesson? Even post-crash, it pays to believe in online trading. As the truest believer, Ameritrade is the biggest winner.Done: Last year, the company unveiled its coolest tool yet: graphic circles representing stocks that pulse as buy and sell orders are placed. Click on the circle to trade the stock.To do: Someday anyone will be able to trade any stock from any location at any time. What's the holdup?